Refrigerator.



No. 829,415. RENEWED AUG. 28, 1906. G. R. MOQMBHL. BBPRIGEM'WRL.

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PATENTBD AUG. 28, 1906.

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CHARLES R. MoClABE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

REFRIGERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1906.

Applicatinn fil d December 15,1905. Serial No- 291,936.

To alt whont it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. MCCABE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a specification.

The purpose of the present invention is to dispense with the. drip-pan generally required in portable refrigerators for household use to catch the drippings resulting from melting of the ice and to collect and utilize said drippings for drinking purposes.

\Vith the objects aforesaid in view the invention consists of an ice-chamber and ad junctive parts of peculiar formation whereby the water resulting from melting of the ice accumulates in a trough or receptacle from which it may be drawn and which will admit of ready access to the parts for cleaning, making repairs, or other desired purpose.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings.

While the invention may be adapted to different forms and conditions by changes in the structure and minor details without departing from the spirit or essential features thereof, still the preferred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a refrigerator embodying the invcn tion, parts being broken away to show more clearly the relative arrangement of the different elements. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the upper portion of the refrigerator on the line m m of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line y y of Fig. 1.

Corresponding and like parts arereferred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The refrigerator may be of any type or design, the illustration representing an ordinary construction with the exception of the icechamber and parts intimately associated therewith.

In the refrigerator shown the ice-chamber 1 is located at the top and the provisionchamber 2 at the bottom or below the icechamber.

side of the refrigerator and may be of any height and width and, as shown, is coextensive with the dimensions of the side of the refrigerator to which it is applied. An open ing 4 establishes communication between the upper portion of the air-chamber 3 and the top part of the ice-chamber 1, and a corresponding opening 5 connects the lower part of the provision-chamber with the lower portion of said air-chamber. The openings 4 and 5 are protected by wire-gauze or similar material to prevent foreign matter or substances from having ready access to the refrigerator or passing from the refrigerator through the air-space 3 and fouling the same. The air-chamber 3 enables a free circulation of air through all parts of the refrigerator and enables the cool air to have ready access to the lowest portion of the provision-chamber and the warm air to rise from said provisionchamber and pass out through opening 19 near the top thereof. The ice-chamber 1 is open at the top and closed by means of a cover 6. Below the ice-chamber is a watercompartment and a trough or receptacle 8. The drippings from the melting ice accumulate in said trough or receptacle and form the water to be used for drinking purposes and which water is adapted to be drawn from the trough or receptacle by means of a faucet 9.

The trough or receptacle 8 is preferably arranged at one side of the refrigerator and at one end of the water-compartment, and the bottom 10 of the latter inclines toward said trough to direct the water thereto and prevent its standing or accumulating thereon. The bottom 10 and trough 8 may be constructed in a manner and supported within the refrigerator in any accustomed way, and, as illustrated, these parts are formed of sheet metal and are supported upon strips or bars 1], which are fastened to the walls of the refrigerator in any substantial manner. The trough or receptacle 8 inclines throughout its length, the lowest point being arranged adjacent to the faucet-line, thereby admitting of completely draining the trough when it is required to draw all the water therefrom. The bottom 12 of the ice-chamber inclines from all directions toward a central point at which an opening 13 is formed to provide an escape for the water as the ice melts. The opening 13 is protected by wire-gauze or like material, so as to prevent any foreign matter passing from the ice-chamber into the The air-space 3 is provided at one water-compartment along with the dripping-s,

The bottom 12 is preferably removable and is supported upon strips 14, which constitute a rest therefor. To facilitate the removal of the bottom, a ring or linger-piece 15 is connected therewith, preferably by means of a short chain. The bottom 12 forms a support for the ice which. is qlaced thereon.

It may happen t lat the ice does not melt sufliciently fast to provide a supply for drinking purposes, and to provide for this contingeney a filling-tube 16 is supplied, the same having a funnel 17 at its upper end and being arranged within the ice-chamber at one side thereof and having its lower end arranged to deliver water directly into the trough or receptacle 8. The filling-tube 16 is removable and is supported within the ice-chamber by rings 18, which are attached to a side of the refrigerator. In the event of the trough or receptacle 8 being empty or it being desired to sup 1y water thereto the cover 6 may be opene slightly and water poured into the fun nel l7 and passes therethrough and to the filling-tube 16 into said trough. The lower portion of the filling-tube preferably extends through an opening in the bottom 12, thereby preventing flooding said bottom and. washing any sediment therefrom into the water-compartment and thence into the drinking trough or receptacle 8.

For ventilating the refrigerator an opening 19 is provided in a side thereof, and this opening, like the openings 4 and 5, is protected by Wire-gauze or like material to prevent in sects or other foreign thing from entering the refrigerator. The invention, as will be observed, will obviate the necessity of providing a pan or other vessel for catching drippings and also enables the water resulting from the melting ice to be utilized, while at the same time a maximum percentage of the cold is used for reducing the temperature of the air within the refrigerator.

The invention may be readily applied. to any variety of refrigerator and obviates annoyance and other objectionable features incident to the wasting of the drippings from the ice-chamber and makes provision for collecting and using the water of the melting ice, which is wholesome, as ice now collected and used for domestic purposes is prepared from purified water, which may be frozen either artificially or by natural process.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is A refrigerator comprising upper and lower compartments and having an air-space at one side in communication with the upper portion of the upper compartment and the lower portion of the lower compartment, a plate separating the compartments and cutting off all direct communication between them and having a portion near one edge de pressed to form an. inclined trough, a faucet connected with the lower end of the trough for drawing off water therefrom and arranged upon the outside of the refrigerator, an icesupport located above said plate, a fillingtube at one side of the framework extending throu h the ice-support and arranged to direct t 1e water into the said trough, means supporting the filling-tube to admit of its ready removal, and a cover for closing over the upper compartment and the filling-tube.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES R. MCCABE.

itnesses:

JOHN M. WELLER, ANDREW A. BECKER. 

